


The Mystic and the Black Flame

by ETNMystic



Category: Fandom RPF, Hocus Pocus (1993), Our ETerNity Together (Web Series AU)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:34:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26890756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic
Summary: Four curious friends have taken a trip to Salem for Halloween. But their curiosity may betray them when one of them finds a mysterious cottage and a mysterious candle.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 7





	1. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darn my curiosity.

Did I ever think I'd be taking a trip to Salem? Not even a little, and especially not with my Discord friends, and yet there we were. Halloween night in the middle of Salem, Massachusetts.

There was electricity and there was wifi, but Delta'd insisted that we take a walk instead. Something about "actually spending time with each other." I only agreed if we could go trick-or-treating as well, and even then I _still_ had my reservations.

"Is this _really_ a good idea?" I asked her.  
"Especially at night?"

"We'll be fine, I promise," she told us as we walked into the woods.  
"Walks are good for you."

"Yeah, and who knows? Maybe Plant Boi is real and I can find him in these woods."

"I could possibly find Togami," Bri smiled.  
"And maybe you could find and kiss Ivy, Mystic."

We giggled at the sentiment. I shook my head.

"If only I could."

I hitched up my witch's dress as we headed inside the woods, our bags packed with candy.

I had to admit; as much as walking through the woods of Salem freaked me out, I was glad to have them with me. I felt a little safer. So as the leaves beneath our feet crunched and we heard the call of owls and other birds in the night, I felt my anxiety go down a bit.

_"Rrrow."_

The sound made me skid to a halt.

"Huh?"

"Mystic, c'mon!" Delta called out, who was up ahead with the other two.  
"The houses with the best candy are through here!"

_"Rrrow."_

Looking to my right, I saw two glowing yellow marbles in the bushes. No, not marbles. They were eyes. Curious, I cautiously approached the bush and knelt down.

The eyes disappeared and the bushes rustled.

"Mystic!"

I could hear Delta getting impatient, so I decided to keep goi--

_"Rrrow!"_

There it was again, but much more urgently this time. Whirling back I looked to see a moving shadow along with those glowing eyes. Barely brushing my feet against the leaves, I cautiously approached again. The shadow turned around and ran through another path, but it stopped a little ways away and stared, almost as if.....it was waiting for me.

Now if you know me, you'll know I'm a _very_ curious person. And sometimes, that can lead to some interesting situations. So when Delta called out my name, I decided that.....maybe candy could wait a few more minutes.

"You guys go on ahead," I called out.  
"I'll catch up later."

I didn't even bother with a response. I just took off after the shadow, which was now guiding me through thickets, trees, and bushes, until it lead me to an odd looking place. And an odd looking cottage, one that looked as though it hadn't been used in centuries. 

Just in front of it was a sign. I took a quick glance at it, not giving it much thought, until I saw something about witches. That caught my eye;

_The Cottage of the Infamous Salem Sanderson Sisters, three witches who sucked the life out of children._

"Oh," I remarked, pleasantly surprised.  
"Like in _Hocus Pocus."_

It was true that by that point, I was kind of becoming obsessed with _Hocus Pocus._ But I knew that it was just fiction. If the Sanderson sisters were real, we'd probably at least _hear_ something about it. So this was probably just a tribute to the movie, maybe one made by some crazed fan. 

**_SCRATCH!_ **

My eyes glanced down to see a black cat scratching at the doorway of the cottage. Sensing my gaze, it seemed, it looked up with me, and I saw those same eyes from the bushes.

"Oh," I exclaimed.  
"Were _you_ the one who called out for me?"

"Rrrow," the cat replied before pawing at the door once more.

"I dunno what you want me to do, buddy. I don't have the key."

It began to meow louder and scratch more fiercely. Finally it got to a point where I just twisted the knob, and the next thing made me jump.

It opened.

".....Okay, cottage that's just....open to anyone," I remarked still trying to alleviate my sudden scare.  
"Totally smart."

Paws puttered inside and I followed, shutting the door behind me. 

"Whoa," I gasped as I saw the interior.  
"Talk about a crazed fan creation."

The inside was designed down to the detail of the film's design. They had it all; the cauldron, the spell book, even the candle. The infamous black flame candle.

Which, conveniently, had a box of matches near it.

My curiosity was piqued at that point. I knew that that was the candle that brought the sisters back, and I kind of wanted to light it. I warily approached it and picked up the box, the rattling of the matches giving away my trembling hand.

"Why am I so shaky?" I huffed.  
"It's just fiction."

I swiped the match on the side of the box. The tip lit up, and I took a moment to relish in this little flame. If only the whole ordeal was real. Then it'd be fair game for me to be something special. 

"I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

And I brought it to the wick. The flame almost seemed to glide onto it. I pulled away and blew out the match. The adrenaline was surging through me, and that was when it turned black. 

"No way," I gasped excitedly.  
"They even made the flame light up---"

**_POP! SLAM! CRASH!_ **

A cacophony awoke in the cottage as bulbs broke and the door seemed to slam once against, only for a board to fall in front of it. In a panic, I rushed to the door and tried to pull the board away. Unfortunately it seemed that thing was sealed with super glue.

Then the floor below me began to rumble, causing me to stumble. Every so often, I could see a foggy, bright green light in between the floor boards. The wind howled as well. I tried to hold onto something, but it seemed as though everything in the room was trying to topple me down. I could faintly hear the sounds of people knocking fervently at the door, and I prayed that it would soon be over.

And then it was.....or so I thought.

"Wow," I panted.  
"Really good special effects."

I was more or less trying to disillusion myself at this point. I had a feeling I was in for trouble, but I didn't want to believe it. Surely not. There was no way--

The wind picked up again. Flames shot up into the candles, the fireplace and the pit beneath the cauldron lit itself once more. My heart was hammering in my chest and it practically leapt out when the case around the spell book completely shattered, only for the shards to disappear entirely. In fact _all_ of the museum-esque stuff disappeared.

Now, you remember when I said that I'm a curious person and that it can lead to some....interesting situations? Well, sometimes the situations can turn out to be worse situations as well, kind of like how my curiosity led me to read a fanfic about an extremist cult punishing fictional characters who had seemingly sinned against God in some way, like being witches. 

Speaking of, here's that worse situation I was referring to; the door opened.

_"Sisters! We have returned!"_


	2. Hi Sisters!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James Charles who?

I couldn't believe my eyes. There was absolutely no way this was real. It just couldn't have been. No one else was in the room when it happened, though, so....was it really them?

"Sisters, we have returned!" Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson announced.  
"And tonight we shall wreck havoc upon Salem and its little brats!"

"Ooh, havoc!" her sister Sarah squealed jumping around.  
"Havoc! Havoc! Havoc! Havoc! Havo--ow!"

I winced as she doubled over, grasping her abdomen, short of Winnie elbowing her there. I had a feeling it was her way of regulating excitement, something I might elaborate on later.

"Oh, it feels amazing to have my body again!" the third sister Mary rejoiced.

"Yes, indeed," Winnie agreed.  
"And we had to wait a much shorter time it would seem!"

"But....if we're no longer in hell, then that means...a virgin lit the candle," Sarah giggled.  
"And the last time this happened, we set that trap to keep them in."

There was a pause, seemingly as Sarah tried to collect her thoughts.

"Which can only mean....." Mary prompted encouragingly.  
"Come on, Sarah dear. You're almost there. Which can only mean....."

The third sister blinked.

"Mean what?"

I could tell Winnie was frustrated with Sarah, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to get out of here.

"You bumbling idiot!" the eldest snapped making me flinch.  
"It means that the virgin who lit the candle is still in our cottage. Let us split in three and search."

"I don't think we'll have to, Winnie," Mary said.  
"Look there."

And that was what I was afraid of. 

"Oh....a girl," Sarah sighed a little bit disappointed.

"Indeed," Winnie pondered as they approached me.  
"She looks very....young as well."

_Should I tell them?_

I could hear Mary's nostril hairs shriek as she sniffed the air.

"But-but Winnie. I don't smell children."

This made them stop.

"What?"

"No child?" Sarah asked slightly surprised with a hint of excitement.

"I don't smell one," Mary sighed sadly.

"That's impossible!" Winnie snapped again.  
"She looks so---"

That was when I'd decided that I'd had it.

"Young?" I asked.  
"Like a child? I know."

I began to think that maybe I'd made a mistake because they seemed to be looking at me funny after that. But it was Sarah that seemed most intently studying me.

"Oh, Winnie," she piped up.  
"I think I sense something in her voice."

That was when she approached me.

"Um, he-hey there," I rambled, feeling like Colleen Ballinger in Season 4, Episode 10 of _Escape the Night._  
"Hi, I'm-I'm sorry for, you know, intruding on your property, but that doesn't mean you need to-to breathe down my neck like that, why are you breathing down my neck? That's really creepy---and so is tracing around my neck with your finger. Why-why are you--?"

"Sisters!" she gasped.  
"I sense a singer."

_Why do they look intrigued?_

"Really?" Winnie muttered.

"I mean, we could always use an extra voice just in case my throat becomes cursed again."

And now it was Winnie who was approaching me with her Queen Elizabeth the First hair, but she did it much more slowly.

"What is thy name, child?" she enunciated.

"I'm not a child," I enunciated back to her.  
"I'm a young adult and my name is Mystic."

"Ooh! That sounds like a witch's name!" Sarah clapped joyfully.

"I mean, I just use that online," I grumbled a bit.

"Winnie, Winnie, we should try that new spell!"

"But we have to hear her sing first, just to be sure," Mary added.

_Sing?! Hell no!_

"Oh please?" Sarah begged, seemingly noticing my anxiety.  
"I wanna prove it to them. I wanna prove that I'm right. Last time I tried this, they didn't believe me, so I need you to help them see it! And you're so adorable for an apparently not-child! Another unassuming face could really help us out."

"Are you sure she's not a child, Mary?" I heard Winnie whisper as Sarah continued to ramble.

"Checked several times. I don't smell child."

"That can't be possible."

"I've checked over and over, Winnie. I don't smell--"

"Well then."

Winnie turned back to me.

"If you don't wish for us to suck out your youth--"

"--which you only do to children--" I added.

"--then give us just a little song."

"Oh, wouldst thou give us but one?" Sarah asked. 

"Uhhh...."

_....Just go for it. You got yourself into this mess, so you gotta get yourself out._

Sighing, I sang a small portion of _Isabella's Lullaby_ from _The Promised Neverland._ There weren't usually lyrics in that song, and it was rather comfort---

"Stop," Winnie said out of the blue.  
"I've heard enough!"

Sarah's face seemed to drop and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel a bit upset. I knew that Sarah was often seen as the dumb one, but I had a feeling she wasn't dumb at all, just different.

"You were right, Sarah," the eldest admitted.  
"For once you were right. She _can_ sing, rather beautifully might I add."

With this she went up to me and practically squeezed the life out of me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed.  
"You're so sweet, and so adorable!"

She pinched my cheek, and I sighed.

"Sarah! The spell," Winnie called out.

"The what?!" I sputtered.

"You mean, we're--?" Sarah gasped excitedly.

"Yes, yes. Now bring her over to us."

"Wait, what's going on?!" 

I began to panic as Sarah brought me over to them, struggling against her.

"It's gonna be okay," she assured me.  
"This is gonna _really_ bring out your voice, I promise. I think you'll like the results, I really do."

"Oh, book," Winnie called out.  
"Come to mummy, darling."

There it was, the skin-coated book with that eye on it. I shuddered as it passed by, the eye staring at me, as it glided into Winnie's hands.

"There we are," she cooed, skimming the pages.  
"Now let's see.....no, it's not that, nor that, nor this one, Aha! Here it is. _The_ _Siren Spell._ "

"The Siren Spell??" I squeaked.

"The Siren Spell!"

"The Siren Spell!" Sarah squealed before jumping up and down happily.  
"Siren Spell, Siren Spell, Siren Spell, Siren Spell, Siren Sp---OW!"

Another ram to the abdomen from Winnie's bony elbow.

"Quiet! We must remain focused."

".....Focused on what?" Sarah asked.

"The spell!"

"Oh right!"

The three of them took a look at the page as my heart pounded. 

_What am I supposed to do?!_

I tried to back away, but they then formed a triangle around me before Winnie began, and I had a feeling this wasn't gonna be a good thing.

_"Coat the cords and light the sound."_

_"Itch-it-a-cop-it-ta.  
_

_Mel-a-ka-mys-ti-ca."_

I swear I could hear Mary and Sarah emphasize the last three syllables, seemingly to mock me, or just for fun.

_"Ascend her song 'bove earthly ground."_

_"Itch-it-a-cop-it-ta.  
_

_Mel-a-ka-mys-ti-ca."_

_"Mesmerize them all around. Just."_

_"Like."_

_"This!"_

As they pointed with their hands at my neck, I felt a warm sensation in my throat and a golden glow emerged. I tried to call out for help, but it felt as though I was just exerting air. I could barely hear my breath. But funny enough, I didn't feel any pain. After a while, they slowly pulled back, and I waited until the glow died down.

"What.....was that?!" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"Oh, it was just like Sarah told you," Winnie assured me, even though I did _not_ feel assured in the slightest.  
"Just a.....little something to bring out that singing of yours. Now sisters, shall we take her somewhere to test her new magic?"

"Oh yes, of course!" Sarah gasped.

They headed for the door, and I gulped.

_Can this get any worse?_

_"What the--?"_

_"How are you---?"_

_"Hey! Let go!"_

I recognized the three voices they pulled in and locked back in.

_"Mystic, what did you do?!"_


	3. An Extended Spooky Season

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (CW: Brief past pedophilia implication)
> 
> Someone drops the news on Mystic that Halloween may not last just one single night.
> 
> Aka, me giving an excuse to extend Spooky Season.

I froze, my heart still bashing against my chest. I thought they'd gone to get more candy, but nope. They followed me to this place. I don't know why, did they _not_ read the sign? Or did they read it and just thought it was fiction, like I did?

"Mystic, what did you do?!" Bri exclaimed when they saw me.

"Uhhh....." 

How was I supposed to explain this?! I wasn't because I saw Delta's eyes glance off to the side and I heard the whack as she facepalmed.

"A virgin.....lit the candle," she moaned, quoting Dani from _Hocus Pocus._

"The what?" Alice blinked.

"The black flame candle. If a virgin lights it, the Sanderson sisters come back. But...didn't they die for good back in 1993?"

"Oh, that was but a mere ploy," Winnie chuckled from behind, causing Delta to jump.  
"We'd set more precautions before.....Max...."

She sounded disgusted as she set her book on a table nearby.

"Managed to survive until sunrise."

All of a sudden, Mary's nostril hairs shrieked once again and she grinned.

"Winnie....I smell children...."

The eldest perked up.

"Where?! Is it her?"

Of course she pointed at me. I huffed.

"How many times do I have to say it? I am _not_ a child!"

Mary sniffed again, but this time she was sniffing the others. Suddenly she came to a stop at Bri, inhaling the air around her. Bri froze in place.

"Uh....hi?" she trembled.

Mary turned back to Winnie.

"It's her."

The witches leaned down and looked at her. She and I _both_ knew what was in store for her if we didn't escape.

"Don't hurt her!" I yelled.

They looked up at me, a bit startled.

"Oh? Is she your friend?" Mary asked.

I nodded, but that seemed to make things worse. The three looked at each other and grinned.

"We won't hurt her," Winnie promised.  
" _But_ in exchange, we require another song."

"You said just one!"

"It doesn't hurt to have another," Sarah said.  
"Plus it'll help us test the spell."

"The spell?!" my friends all said at the same time.

"What kind of trouble did you get into?" Bri stammered.

"I don't know, and I wish I didn't have to find out."

"I guess you do, though," Alice said.

Sighing I sang a bit of _Isabella's Lullaby_ again....until I noticed their eyes had become glossy and blank. Anxiously, I went over to the witches who were now smiling joyously, but in a creepy menacing sort-of way.

"Wonderful!" Winnie cried out.  
"Simply marvelous!"

"What did you do to them?!" I exclaimed in a furious panic.

"We?" she asked innocently.  
" _We_ didn't do anything to them. _You_ did it."

My heart both stopped and threw itself against the chest wall. 

"What...what do you--?"

"It's the spell," Sarah giggled.  
"You're gonna be like me! In terms of magic."

"The spell?"

"The Siren Spell."

"You know what a siren _does_ , correct?" Winnie asked.

That was when my face went pale, as she pointed at Bri.

"You."

Then to a chair.

"There."

Obediently Bri walked to the chair, and my eyes widened.

"You....you tricked me!"

"Oh, it'll be alright," Winnie assured me.  
"You can have a share of her life as well. And once we suck out her life, we can have a 4th sister."

4th sister?!

"First off, that ruins the power of three. And second, no, I will _not_ join you!" 

"Well, I don't see any other mortal with siren powers."

"I'm not selling myself to the devil!"

"It's not that horrible."

I blinked at her. Of course she'd say that.

"He's the devil!"

"You'll grow accustomed to him. Now you stay here while we make the potion."

I was just....frozen to the spot, tears streaming down my face. I was tempted to just take the girls and rush out, but Winnie seemed to sense this.

"Sarah, keep her company, alright?"

"Are you sure?" she asked.   
"I think the potion would require all of us to make it."

"How do we know she's not going to run away?"

"Well, we _did_ claim that we weren't going to hurt her friend."

"And those Puritans _claimed_ that we were evil, but were they correct?"

"And Master also claimed that Max was underage."

"He was."

Hearing this, Sarah froze and her cheeks grew red. 

"Oh.....that's...that's not good."

_No, it's not._

"But.....aren't we evil?" she continued.

While the two of them rambled on, I headed over to Bri.

"Bri, c'mon," I whispered.  
"Get up."

And to my surprise, she did.

"Follow me, but be quiet."

Thank God the witches were too busy with their banter to notice me unlocking the door, leading Alice and Delta out as well, and somehow I ended up snatching something from them. The second we got outside, I set to work to figure out how to get them out of this trance. Shaking them did no good. Neither did throwing water on them, snapping my fingers, even certain words or phrases like "Plant Boi" did nothing at all. I tried practically everything, but nothing seemed to be working.

"Fuck! Are you gonna be stuck in this forever?!" 

At that moment, my frustration surpassed my patience, and.....well, I found out something good and something bad. The good something was that I managed to break them from their trances. 

"Mystic?!" Bri stammered.  
"What the fuck happened?"

_"What was that?!"_

The bad news was that that something was screaming.

"The witches," Delta gulped.

"Yeah, we're gonna need to run," I said, dashing off even before I was finished.

_"Sarah, go and see what's happened."_

I stopped.

"You all go ahead."

"Mystic?" Alice asked.

"Just go! Hurry! I'll try to catch up with you later."

"We're not leaving without you!" Delta insisted.

"Well, if you don't, then Bri's gonna die."

"I wanna find Togami!" she exclaimed.  
"And not die! That's another thing that's awesome-not dying. But I also can't leave you behind, Mystic."

The door opened.

"Hide!" I whispered urgently. 

The three of them yeeted into the bushes as Sarah stepped out.

"Mystic?" 

I was still in overall shock, so I jumped when Sarah said my name. She sounded like she had a twinge of guilt in her voice.

"Sarah? What's wrong?"

"Well, we heard a scream and so....Winnie told me to go check."

"No, I mean....why do you sound so....guilty? Is it Max?"

Pursing her lips, she nodded. 

"I....I feel horrible about it."

"....Well, you know it's not okay now, right?"

She nodded.

"Are...are you--?"

"I'm not a teen or kid."

"So you're....?"

"I mean, yeah. Do you....?"

"N-No."

There was a moment of silence.

"Maybe....more like a big sister?" I asked.

I could see her considering this.

"I mean, Winnie said you want me to be your sister, but, like, I don't wanna sell myself to the devil."

"I feel terrible that we hath tossed you into this. I don't know where our relationship shalt take us, but we have but 1 week at the very least."

My face dropped.

"W-week? No, that's not possible. You're only supposed to be here just the one night."

She shook her head.

"Winnie froze the candle in time for at least seven days and seven nights."

Could....could she do that? Apparently she could.

"So....it's gonna be Halloween for---?"

She nodded.

"One whole week, if not longer."

_"Sarah?!"_

I panicked as I heard Winnie's voice snap.

"I'm sorry," I said under my breath.

I tossed the book into the bushes and indicated to my friends to go, to which they did, taking the book with them.

_"Whatever is taking you so long?"_

Winnie stepped out into the nighttime air, and her eyes glanced at me.

"Mystic? How did you get out here?" she asked.

I gulped.

"Well, I was feeling rather ill, so I picked the lock in order to get some fresh air."

Hearing this, the eldest huffed.

"I shall let thou off with a warning this time, but the next time you wish to have fresh air and the door is locked, you shall ask me first. Understood?"

I nodded.

"Yes, Winnie."

Hearing this she smiled.

"My, my, you're catching on quickly. Already setting a better example than my two idiot sisters!"

With this she headed back inside.

_3......2.....1....._

"AHHHHHH!"

_And there it is._

"Where in the name of Lucifer is my book?! And where did the child go?!"

"I could've sworn it was right on that table, Winnie," Mary panicked.

"Well, now it's _not_! Oh! Those wretched brats must've snuck off with it! Sarah! Mystic!"

I looked over at her and gulped before heading inside, her following just behind.

"Yes, Winnie?" I asked innocently.

"You two shall search for the book and the child. Mary and I shall stay here, and brew the potion from memory. Sarah, to your broom."

"But what about Mystic?" Sarah asked.  
"She can't fly, and if she's going to be our sister, she should be able to fly."

Hearing this Winnie groaned.

"Witch's magic, of course.....I'll have to brew something for _that_ as well. But it's also in the book. Very well. Mystic, you shall ride with Sarah until we can get the book and the child. In the meantime, Mary and I shall brew the life potion. Now go!"

Sarah took my hand and fetched her broom before running off into the night, bringing me out the door with her. Pointing her broom end at the sky, we began to lift from the ground. And one thing I missed was that damn cat, sneaking out of the cottage.


End file.
